On the coach

[Scrappy3]

I give coach Hurley tremendous respect for getting us back in many ways
BUT
No way. No way. No way can we lose so many close games with such poor mismanagement I. The last 5 mi utes.
This season has been devastated by the coach not putting the winning touches he should end of game
No way Jim C goes 0-6 in these games
Step up!

 

[Captbluefin]

News flash— There is and will be only one Jim Calhoun..

Dan Hurley is the coach of Uconn..

 

[gwhuskyfan]

The play he drew up where CV got fouled on the 3 was genius. The whole first half he had the offense got great looks against the zone and just couldn’t hit. He can only do so much

 

[cohenzone]

News flash— There is and will be only one Jim Calhoun..

Dan Hurley is the coach of Uconn..

Shamond Tooles. Players do have some responsibility. It seems like he’s decided to see how the young guys handle end game situations. That’s a coaching move. They weren’t a turnover machine which was more the problem in the other close losses.

 

[freescooter]

When the same guys make the same dumb plays over and over again. And when guys are no better, maybe even regressed from year 1 and year 2 it is a legitimate question to ask whether Hurley has the right stuff. Unless things change pretty dramatically this will be yet another year without a post season. We really need to see significant progress next year.

 

[Rico444]

The play at the end of regulation was great. Coming out the first two possessions of OT in zone after we played great man to man defense all day was...not a great call.

 

[kemba]

The "this never would have happened under Calhoun" takes are the most annoying thing about this board.

1. There is only one Calhoun

2. Calhoun has had more talented teams than this one suffer bad losses and have disappointing seasons.

It is what it is, no coach is perfect, but the bigger problem is the roster is not good enough yet.

 

[Caronimo]

I guess Hurley was dumb for benching the Ollie losers when we went on the 12-0 run as well. Or when Vital took a 25 foot fadeaway up by 3? Or when he drew up that play for Vital at the end? Only thing I didn’t love was starting OT in a zone but we did have some foul trouble. We got exposed inside and just a reminder we desperately need a real center (cough Cliff cough). Our record stinks but we have improved a lot since last year.

 

[LIuconn]

At some point it becomes a talent issue.

 

[ucawn]

Maybe we could make a few more shots

 

[McLovin]

The decision not to go 2 for 1 today (didn’t hurt us, but still...) and our end of half possessions in general have been terrible (all season long).

I think after getting badly out coached in the first 2 conference games he has done a much better job with game plans and in game adjustments. His substitution patterns continue to improve. Still more work to be done but he is growing as a coach in a tough situation. I think in 10 years we’ll look back and realize just how lucky we were to have him rebuild our program.

We can blame him all we want for the general lack of offense but our players have missed tons of wide open shots all season long. He can only do so much as coach, scoring the ball on open looks is totally on the players. The past 5 games the offense has created a bunch of great looks, the players just can’t finish.

With that said, he needs to figure out a way to have them run plays at the end of halves that aren’t just long 3s or wild drives. That is on him to fix ASAP. We can’t afford to give away any possessions.

We are starting to see glimpses from the young guys, especially when they played as a unit in the second half, of what this team can be offensively. The future is bright.

 

[Palatine]

Starting the OT in zone with Bouk on the bench wasnt a good move either.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

I give coach Hurley tremendous respect for getting us back in many ways
BUT
No way. No way. No way can we lose so many close games with such poor mismanagement I. The last 5 mi utes.
This season has been devastated by the coach not putting the winning touches he should end of game
No way Jim C goes 0-6 in these games
Step up!

So from your esteemed armchair coaching spot, how would you have coached the last 5 minutes of these close losses? Keep in mind that coaching can’t do things like:

-personally physically put the ball in the hoop
-grab a key rebound when given 3 chances to prevent the other team from getting an offensive rebound
-etc etc x100

Hurley could have coached some things differently at the end but there’s still no guarantee with our erratic players that the execution would have occurred or that the outcome would beany different.

We’re a program that is in a major rebuild of everything- individual skills, team skills, psyche, making winning plays, etc.

if you can’t deal with this and how it translates into wins & losses, pull a Rip Van Winkle and go to sleep for a couple years. I’ll wake you up when we’re a Top 25 team. And with Hurley at the helm, I’m confident we will.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

With that said, he needs to figure out a way to have them run plays at the end of halves that aren’t just long 3s or wild drives. That is on him to fix ASAP. We can’t afford to give away any possessions.

This is the main critique I think Hurley deserves. The team seems not to know what to do in the last 2 minutes. They should by now. The other critique I'd add is to adjust his defense better to the personnel and the game situations. How many times do you have to see Carlton and Whaley get abused by Igbanu before you make a change?

 

[MuchoDogYears]

I give coach Hurley tremendous respect for getting us back in many ways
BUT
No way. No way. No way can we lose so many close games with such poor mismanagement I. The last 5 mi utes.
This season has been devastated by the coach not putting the winning touches he should end of game
No way Jim C goes 0-6 in these games
Step up!

I don’t know if people are just forgetting what JC‘s strengths were as time goes by?

Game management, end of game genius moves, those were not his strengths.

JC’s strength was creating in practice, and games, tough minded teams with star recruits that he’d go to in late game situations to pull the game out.

Hurley is creating the same tough minded team.

What he doesn’t have yet are the star recruits who can pull the game out in the last minute. I think he’s going to get there on both counts.

Check back two years from now and it will look like a JC team.

 

[AJP12]

This is the main critique I think Hurley deserves. The team seems not to know what to do in the last 2 minutes. They should by now. The other critique I'd add is to adjust his defense better to the personnel and the game situations. How many times do you have to see Carlton and Whaley get abused by Igbanu before you make a change?

Because we don't have a point guard... Its pretty simple. Gaffney played well today and did a nice job pushing the pace/ slowing it down when necessary. But he's a Freshman, and still not great in the half court. Gilbert's decision making has been well documented at this point.

I don't think people are fully realizing just how badly a lack of PG has killed us this year. Things will change next year with Cole.

 

[scotty0330]

Things were supposed to change this year with a healthy Gilbert. This board always loves the guy sitting out is gonna some how be this magical touch that changes teams fortunes.

 

[Kenny11]

Things were supposed to change this year with a healthy Gilbert. This board always loves the guy sitting out is gonna some how be this magical touch that changes teams fortunes.

true, but other teams improve because of one player sitting out that comes back, one recruit, one player improving, a new coach, or just guys getting older. Our record this year is completely inexcusable.

 

[UconnU]

Hurley is such a player’s coach sometimes that I worry about mental toughness.

 

[Kenny11]

Because we don't have a point guard... Its pretty simple. Gaffney played well today and did a nice job pushing the pace/ slowing it down when necessary. But he's a Freshman, and still not great in the half court. Gilbert's decision making has been well documented at this point.

I don't think people are fully realizing just how badly a lack of PG has killed us this year. Things will change next year with Cole.

gaffney was very good when we pressed and sped the game up. Hurley stayed with gaffney at the end and went away from gilbert, which was understandable, but overall gilbert is better in the halfcourt despite the nightmares of his mistakes in close games down the stretch this year. Hurley probably assumed that was coming and kept him out.

 

[Rico444]

I think Hurley is going to bring us back to prominence, I really do. That said, the fact that our three oldest players have regressed pretty severely this year is very concerning.

 

[imno1]

Things were supposed to change this year with a healthy Gilbert. This board always loves the guy sitting out is gonna some how be this magical touch that changes teams fortunes.

RJ will be better that Al. I've heard and maybe others can confirm that in practice he's better already. But will that be enough? Probably not. We need others to improve. We need Springs to be at least a defensive presence and relentless rebounder. Gaffney needs to bounce the ball every minute he' not in the weight room during the off-season. Bouk needs to shoot 500 3s a day this summer. I hope Sid continues his upward trajectory, Jackson need to show D1 skills immediately. The middle again will be our weakness unless Akok can gain at least 15-20 lbs without losing his explosiveness. I'll admit I was way off on Josh but hopefully he can provide something next year. I left Polley out because I don't know if he'll even play. I like BA as a sub. I have no doubt that Akok and James will make big leaps next year. They've got too much talent. Question - who will be the vocal leader(s)?

 

[CTBasketball]

Starting the OT in zone with Bouk on the bench wasnt a good move either.

Bouk had 4 fouls and we had no answer down low. Worth a shot, they were cold from the arc too.

 

[Greathusky]

Wonder where Gilbert's mind is after the game after riding the bench in crunch time? Will he be motivated or sink into a dark place?

 

[UconnU]

Worth noting that Sid is pretty much the only returning player who has over performed expectations. Sid is also the only kid who Hurley seems to challenge; challenging him in press conferences, forcing him to earn minutes, etc. CV and AG can seemingly do no wrong regardless of how many mistakes they make.